Welcome to DBSTalk

Welcome to DBSTalk. Our community covers all aspects of video delivery solutions including: Direct Broadcast Satellite (DBS), Cable Television, and Internet Protocol Television (IPTV). We also have forums to discuss popular television programs, home theater equipment, and internet streaming service providers. Members of our community include experts who can help you solve technical problems, industry professionals, company representatives, and novices who are here to learn.

Like most online communities you must register to view or post in our community. Sign-up is a free and simple process that requires minimal information. Be a part of our community by signing in or creating an account. The Digital Bit Stream starts here!

My guess (and it's just that) is that if you don't have a subscription you won't be able to watch the recording.

No, when the premium channels are free you can record to your heart's content and keep the recordings for months and months and play them over and over whenever you like.

The only downside is that on SD DVR's (R15, R16, etc.) the box won't let you schedule recordings on channels that you are not subscribed to. So you need to make a list of the shows you want to record and then on the day the "free preview" begins quickly add them to your TO DO list.

My R22 presents a message telling me that I'm not subscribed to a channel but offers to let me schedule the recording anyway (a nice feature).

Not to look a gift horse in the mouth, but it annoys me that whenever these free previews are run, all the movies have frequent banner ads at the bottom of the screen asking you to subscribe. I'm curious if it only affects "freeview" customers or if regular premium subscribers also have to deal with the ads. It's bad enough to deal with the channel logo in the lower left hand corner, but when 10-20 percent of the screen gets taken over it becomes really a PITA.

Not to look a gift horse in the mouth, but it annoys me that whenever these free previews are run, all the movies have frequent banner ads at the bottom of the screen asking you to subscribe. I'm curious if it only affects "freeview" customers or if regular premium subscribers also have to deal with the ads. It's bad enough to deal with the channel logo in the lower left hand corner, but when 10-20 percent of the screen gets taken over it becomes really a PITA.

the Starz preview over Thanksgiving weekend had no banner ads. also the HBO one a few months back also had no ads. last time i saw that ad it was on the Showtime freeview.